Will you ride a bike like this?

[Konaman]

 

http://www.velonews.com/files/images/TB_Leadvillebike01.JPG

Travis Brown?s Top Fuel is built like no other, for the dirt roads in Leadville.

Travis Brown?s Trek Top Fuel

Possibly not since

the days of John Tomac in the early 1990?s have we been treated to the

sight of a mountain bike with drop bars.

But knowing the gravel roads, having a history in cyclocross, and

never one to shy from a potential technical advantage, Brown pulled it

off and mounted an aluminum, Bontrager Race Lite road bar to his Top

Fuel. It?s paired with a 90mm Race X-Lite aluminum stem, mounted with

+7 degrees of rise. The net result is a comfortably upright stance with

a short front center. The road bar offers multiple hand positions for

climbing, fast cruising, and stable descending in the drops.

 

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The

road bar is not the only skinny-tire fitment on Brown?s Trek. He?s got

a 180mm Dura Ace 7800 triple road crank and front derailleur mounted on

the Top Fuel. The bike is typically spec?ed with a 2-chainring

crankset, and there?s just enough clearance for the Dura Ace triple.

Brown fitted 30- and 39-tooth chainrings, plus a custom carbon fiber

outer chain guard from his cyclocross parts stash.

 

In order to run the Dura Ace 7800 front derailleur, which relies on

bottom-pull cable routing, Brown used a Trek/Bontrager cable clamp

adapter to convert the mech for the top-pull configuration of the Top

Fuel.

 

Of course, with a road bar comes the need for road shifter/brake

levers, and SRAM picks up the story with Red road parts, mated to a XX

rear derailleur and 11-36 cogset. The road levers preclude hydraulic

disc brakes, so Brown bolted on a pair of Avid BB7 Road cable-actuated

mechanical disc calipers to bite into XX rotors.

 

What little remains of his parts pick is relatively standard: a 2010

RockShox Reba fork at 120mm travel; Bontrager XXX-Lite carbon wheels

(with a Bontrager XR-1 Team Issue rear tire and Jones XR front); a FOX

RP23 rear shock; Crank Brothers pedals; and a Bontrager saddle.  |

 

[adogshow]

Frankenbike!! does it make coffee too? 

[AndreZA]

Hell no, it's a Trek.

[Tumbleweed]

i do ride one of those, sorta https://www.bikehub.co.za/forum_posts.asp?TID=33539&KW=alice

[HappyMartin]

Odd for sure. I do like the multiple hand positions available on drops but it would creep me out trying to use the controls on that thing on technical pieces.

 

 I saw the opposite of this at the Jock. A specialized road bike with Zipp wheels and MTB bar and brakes. Also looked odd to me.

[Azonic]

I'd definitely ride it. That bike would FLY Karoo 2 Coast.

[BrendonMyb]

no can do

[IdeJongh]

dont like

[splat]

Johhny Tomac 10th Anniversary special edition

 

http://www.retrobike.co.uk/?p=122

 

 

 And the Original:

 

splat2009-08-18 01:48:06

[AndreZA]

Johhny Tomac 10th Anniversary special edition

 

?

 

 

 

 

and he went downhill with that thing.

 

 

 

[HeartCoppi]

Thats a hellish interesting concept.

I've always thought the hand position and grip is stronger.

 

Are the double bottle cages on the TREK normal??

[Konaman]

I dont know how stable it would feels on a "heavy downhill"

[Tumbleweed]

I dont know how stable it would feels on a "heavy downhill"

 

 

 

 

having ridden one for a while, it's surprisingly stable in the technical stuff. your bum is so far off the back of the bike, that it unloads the front a bit...sure, it's still sketchy, but not as bad as you'd imagine.

[Wernervdmerwe]

I won't, imagine how tired your arm is gonna get holding the wheel like that!

[Tumbleweed]

I dont know how stable it would feels on a "heavy downhill"

 

 

 

 

having ridden one for a while, it's surprisingly stable in the technical stuff. your bum is so far off the back of the bike, that it unloads the front a bit...sure, it's still sketchy, but not as bad as you'd imagine.

[BrendonMyb]

tomac was nutcase anyhow - Only he would have come up with a concept like that back in the day - thing is though, he was freakin fast even to todays standards